White Castle brings more than burgers

RETAIL WATCH

Popular hamburger chain opens with fanfare of long lines, police and social media chatter.

White Castle is drawing long lines of curious customers after opening on… (DONNA FISHER, THE MORNING…)

November 19, 2011|Retail Watch | Scanning the Storefronts

The lines for Black Friday's jaw-dropping deals at Best Buy and Target may pale in comparison to the crowds outside the recently-opened White Castle in Whitehall.

Since opening last Sunday, White Castle has lured lines of hungry customers that have routinely snaked around the 2,500 square-foot building, and township police have been sent to manage traffic on what is already a congested part of MacArthur Road.

On Twitter and Facebook, some White Castle faithful are cheering the opening, while others are lamenting about the long wait times, traffic tie-ups and having to park in the nearby Home Depot lot.

For those that don't know, White Castle is an Ohio-based fast-food chain known for its small burgers, dubbed sliders, and cult-like following made legendary in the 2004 comedy "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle."

A few White Castle fans have contacted Retail Watch since its opening, including one that wrote: "A man in front of me ordered $81 worth of hamburgers. This is the biggest thing that has hit this Valley in 20 years."

The long lines have turned some away, including Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, who wrote on his Facebook page last Sunday, "Will try Another day. Don't need sliders that bad," Pawlowski wrote on his Facebook page.

Speaking of Facebook, some locals formed the group "Occupy White Castle - Whitehall, PA," chronicling big moments, such as the restaurant's first customer, and posting photos of stacks of burgers and long lines into the late evening hours.

A White Castle spokeswoman said such fanfare is fairly routine when the chain opens a new restaurant, but Whitehall could be a bit different since it's the only White Castle in Pennsylvania.

"Typically lines tend to be 40 to 60 people deep and if they're longer, it has to do with this being a new region for White Castle and it has a soft spot in people's hearts," spokeswoman Christina Dziak said.

This opening has stirred some of the largest crowds for a retail opening in the Valley since I took over the Retail Watch column in 2008.

Still, this is not necessarily unusual since new fast-food chains in the region have drawn some of the largest crowds. Let's not forget the long lines and police directing traffic when Sonic Drive-In opened its inaugural Valley spot on Route 248 in 2008 and when Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen opened on Allentown's Hanover Avenue in 2009.

The lack of parking spaces at the White Castle and that sight of its drive-thru lane snaking into the jug handle on Thursday afternoon didn't discourage customers like Allentown residents Charles and Edwina Schaffer.

The two parked in the Home Depot parking lot, walked into White Castle and came out about 15 minutes later with 20 burgers.

"This is our first time, we wanted to try it out," Edwina Schaffer said.

I would also like to address the complaints of some Retail Watch readers about White Castle's opening not appearing in last week's column. I did write a story in Saturday's paper, and, moments after learning of the opening date, tweeted it and linked it to the Retail Watch Facebook . This are why I encourage all of you to follow me on Twitter and check the column's Facebook page.

More crowds could form when the highly-anticipated pub Tilted Kilt opens Monday at the former Bennigan's restaurant at 2835 Lehigh St., Allentown, owners said.

This is the first Lehigh Valley franchise for the chain known for scantily clad waitresses and pub grub such as hot wings, pulled pork sandwiches, fish tacos and cheesesteaks.

Allentown adds to the growth spurt for the chain that started in 2003 in Las Vegas and is described as "a contemporary, Celtic-themed sports pub staffed with beautiful servers," according to its website.

Tilted Kilt, which has 53 locations throughout the nation, recently announced plans to nearly double its number of restaurants.

Last week's mention about a rumored designer cupcakery coming to downtown Bethlehem is true.

Owner of Sugar Babe Cupcakes has decided to go brick and mortar.

Angela Malpedo started the designer cupcakery as a mobile venture, but has now decided to take over the former The Attic clothing store space at 14 W. Broad St. She plans to open in mid-December.

Sugar Babe peddles muffins, Italian cookies and a large selection of designer cupcakes such as Dazzle Me, which is a white chocolate raspberry cupcake with raspberry frosting topped with fresh raspberries; The Godfather, a tiramisu cupcake topped with mascarpone frosting and dusted with cocoa powder; and Good Day Sunshine, an orange creamsicle cupcake topped with vanilla frosting and orange zest.